1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stirring mechanism, and more particularly to a stirring mechanism which can be placed in a cooking pot or pan to automatically mix the food or fluid being prepared.
2. The Prior Art
Many foods, such as puddings, custards, soups, sauces, gravy, creamed corn and oatmeal, either require stirring over lengthy periods of time during cooking or require premixing. Therefore, one must constantly attend to these particular type goods during preparation at which time other foods are more than likely being simultaneously prepared. As a result, the person who is preparing these foods must either wait to prepare other foods or run the risk of improper mixing or scorching. The presently proposed invention overcomes these problems through the provision of a mechanized stirring device which can easily be attached to a cooking pot or pan and left unattended to properly mix and stir the foods under preparation.
The most common stirring devices shown by the prior art, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,251,581, 3,112,917, 2,831,663, and 2,032,678, include a drive member which is suspended on the container rim to drive a rotating or oscillating blade or paddle. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,831,663 and 2,032,678 do not suggest a commercial mixing device which will traverse the rim of a container to provide constant mixing of the foods under preparation within the entire confines of the container. Other prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,732,185 and 2,456,981 which disclose agitating means for domestic cooking utensils. However, none of the mixing devices disclosed by the previously discussed prior art patents provide the advantages of the present invention, as will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention.
The prior art further includes Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,536 which discloses a self-contained drive unit for attachment to the rim of a cooking container and a stirring element attached to the drive unit. The present invention, which is an improvement over the device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,536, enables several further advantages to a user and also enables a wider range of foods to be stirred without an agglomerating effect on the stirrer element.